Rapper

The Grammy-nominated rapper 2 Chainz, who received a drug citation during a traffic stop in Talbot County in February, was found not guilty. The rapper, whose legal name is Tauheed Epps, was found not guilty of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia charges, online court records show. His attorney did not respond Thursday for a call for comment. Epps tweeted on Wednesday, “Boxing gloves I beat the trial.” After the February stop, he Tweeted a photo of himself with two officers, prompting state police to review the incident.

J. Cole, the North Carolina-based rapper whose sophomore album, "Born Sinner," drops Tuesday, will perform at Baltimore Soundstage tonight, according to Soundstage's Twitter page . It was not announced before this morning. Tickets cost $1, and can be purchased on a first-come, first-serve basis at the Soundstage box office starting at 4 p.m. There's a limit of one ticket per person. The show is 18+ and you must have a state-issued ID, according to Soundstage's Twitter page.

Late last winter, Baltimore rapper Test (formerly known as TestMe) signed a deal with Future's FreeBandz Entertainment. Yesterday, he released his first project of original material as a FreeBandz member: "Green Light," which you can download for free here (contains explicit language). (Test released "Jackin 4 Beats" with DJ Big L late last year, but it was him rhyming over already-popular tracks.) Test appeared on the popular FreeBandz compilation mixtape, "F.B.G.: The Movie," from January.

Well, here's a clear break from the "Will & Grace" mold. FX 's new sister network FXX (yes, they really just added an extra 'X') has ordered an animated comedy, titled " Chozen ," about a gay white rapper who has just gotten out of prison. Deadline reports the main character, voiced by Bobby Moynihan , emerges from the clink with "a new message and new skills, which he will use in his quest for redemption and domination. " I'll reserve full judgment until FXX releases a trailer or a pilot, but two quick thoughts come to mind.

How did Mac Miller do it? It seems improbable, but the party-all-the-time Jewish rapper from Pittsburgh found himself at the top of the Billboard 200 on Nov. 16, without a radio hit, and more important, without a major-label machine there to take the credit. Miller, 19, sold 144,000 copies of his debut album, "Blue Slide Park," making him the first independent artist to claim the top spot since 1995. He's not a protege of a superstar, nor have any of "Blue Slide Park's" songs charted.

The search for America's next greatest talent continues in New York.  First up is The Flyte Cru, who I guess you could call basketball stunts-men. They use trampolines to do all sorts of somersaults as they shoot hoops. Their act is pretty entertaining, but I feel like I've seen it before, so I'm not very impressed. Judge Howie Mandel thinks the same thing and gives them a “no.” New judge Howard Stern has been surprisingly kind this season; he continues that streak and says he wants to see Flyte Cru move on to next round.

Influential Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco recently had some harsh words for President Barack Obama, which is no surprise for anyone who follows his music. Lupe's been critical of Obama in the past, but he took it a step further when he called Obama "the biggest terrorist" in America in an interview with CBS News.  “In my fight against terrorism, to me, the biggest terrorist is Obama in the United States of America," he said. "For me, I’m trying to fight the terrorism that’s actually causing the other forms of terrorism.

Rome Cee is counting in German. “Eins, zwei, drei, vier …” It's an oppressively humid July afternoon and the 29-year-old rapper, born Jerome Carrington Jr., is dressed in black and gray, sipping a hot cup of coffee in a Fells Point shop. In between sips, the former military brat recalls buying schnitzel in Kaiserslautern, Germany “like it was yesterday.” But when Rome was 8, his father left the Marines and moved the family back to his hometown of West Baltimore. The transition wasn't easy on Rome.

This piece was featured in b's "10 People to Watch Under 30" weekend edition. Check out the rest of the class of 2011 here . "Don't care about your top five/Either you like my songs or don't, for real," Greenspan raps on his aptly titled track "Cold. " The Baltimore-born rapper, born Brian Dawkins, stays in his own lane. While other rappers put their hopes on mixtape remixes of already popular songs, Greenspan -- who cites AZ's Doe or Die as the album that made him want to rap -- prefers doing shows with a live band.

UPDATE (Feb. 23, 4:42 p.m.): Terrel Dishon Taylor, aka Smash, was discovered dead due to congestive heart failure in his Baltimore home 5:30 p.m. Friday, according to a family press release. Funeral arrangements are not yet set, but there will be a vigil on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at City of Gods (1118 Hollins St.) from 6-10 p.m. Donations to the family can be mailed to 8420 Governance Bradford Lane, Ellicott City, Md. 21043. ------------- Baltimore rapper Smash, born Terrel Taylor and also known as T-Mac, died Friday due to heart failure, according to his aunt, Arlette Thomas-Fletcher and long-time manager Swen Brock.

Consider this our encore applause for Macklemore's performance at Preakness. This weekend, the self-made Seattle rapper took the stage at the Triple Crown's second jewel and delivered a set that included his two most recognizable songs -- "Thrift Shop" and "Can't Hold Us" -- but also the song "Same Love," in which he stands up for same-sex marriage and gay rights in an unabashedly forward way. Here's a link to the song's video on YouTube....

Baltimore rap fans have been waiting for Los' "Becoming King" since last year. On Thursday, the Bad Boy Records signee and Baltimore native finally released the free 17-track mixtape, which you can download from Datpiff here . "Becoming King" finds Los, who lives in Los Angeles now, sharing tracks with Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J, Ludacris, Pusha T, Yo Gotti and more. The boss, Diddy, appears on the song "Disappointed. " Beats were made by Baltimore-born producer J. Oliver, 1500 or Nothing, Sonny Digital and more.

The Grammy-nominated rapper 2 Chainz, who received a drug citation during a traffic stop in Talbot County in February, was found not guilty. The rapper, whose legal name is Tauheed Epps, was found not guilty of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia charges, online court records show. His attorney did not respond Thursday for a call for comment. Epps tweeted on Wednesday, “Boxing gloves I beat the trial.” After the February stop, he Tweeted a photo of himself with two officers, prompting state police to review the incident.

Outkast remains arguably the greatest rap duo of all time, even though its members - Antwan "Big Boi" Patton and Andre Benjamin, aka Andre 3000 - haven't released an album together since 2006's "Idlewild" soundtrack. While Big Boi continues to release solo albums, Andre has mostly flirted with hip-hop, appearing on guest verses with high-profile artists when he pleases. Last November, Andre made headlines for his contribution to T.I.'s self-reflecting "Sorry. " On it, Andre apologizes to his longtime partner for slowing Outkast down, declining tours and, subsequently, walking away from significant paydays.

At first glance, the Metro Gallery's Saturday night bill seems like an odd pairing: Dope Body - one of Baltimore's noisiest, most abrasive bands in years - and Mykki Blanco, a gender-bending, impressively nimble rapper from New York. But watch some live YouTube clips of each act, and the show makes more sense. Dope Body and Mykki Blanco command attention immediately, and both are capable of consistently winning over new audiences through sheer force and charisma. It doesn't matter that their albums would be categorized at opposite ends of the store.

Late last winter, Baltimore rapper Test (formerly known as TestMe) signed a deal with Future's FreeBandz Entertainment. Yesterday, he released his first project of original material as a FreeBandz member: "Green Light," which you can download for free here (contains explicit language). (Test released "Jackin 4 Beats" with DJ Big L late last year, but it was him rhyming over already-popular tracks.) Test appeared on the popular FreeBandz compilation mixtape, "F.B.G.: The Movie," from January.

The chances of Los - a Baltimore rapper once signed to and quietly dropped from Diddy's Bad Boy Records - being named one of XXL's 2012 Freshmen aren't good. Like most of the hip-hop-only magazines on stands, XXL's clout in rap-circles has diminished greatly over the years. Yet somehow, its annual issue of up-and-comers generates heated debates online, and thus, we still care when Baltimore rappers are included. (Congrats, also, to Mullyman, the only other Baltimore MC included on the ballot.)

"How's everybody?" rap star LL Cool J asked the dozens of youngsters scattered throughout the auditorium of Arena Playhouse. "Everybody feeling good?""Yeah!" the kids answer enthusiastically to both questions.LL Cool J (I'm in a dilemma here as to what he should be called on second reference -- LL? Cool? J? Cool J?) stands on the stage dressed in classic hip-hop gear: sunglasses, black athletic cap, black jacket, white athletic shoes and black pants with the obligatory left pants leg rolled up.He represents a musical genre that is not quite mainstream and has been maligned, pilloried, bashed as the one remaining threat to Western civilization as we know it. Not only have conservatives railed against rap, but so too has the generation that should know better -- the one that grew up on rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues.

UPDATE (Feb. 23, 4:42 p.m.): Terrel Dishon Taylor, aka Smash, was discovered dead due to congestive heart failure in his Baltimore home 5:30 p.m. Friday, according to a family press release. Funeral arrangements are not yet set, but there will be a vigil on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at City of Gods (1118 Hollins St.) from 6-10 p.m. Donations to the family can be mailed to 8420 Governance Bradford Lane, Ellicott City, Md. 21043. ------------- Baltimore rapper Smash, born Terrel Taylor and also known as T-Mac, died Friday due to heart failure, according to his aunt, Arlette Thomas-Fletcher and long-time manager Swen Brock.

Maryland State Police said they arrested Grammy-nominated rapper 2 Chainz on a drug citationfollowing a Thursday traffic stop on his way to perform at a homecoming event at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. The rapper, whose real name is Tauheed Epps, tweeted about the incident and posted a photo of himself standing with two unidentified state troopers. Gregory Shipley, a spokesman for the state police, told The Baltimore Sun that the incident is under review. Troopers pulled over a white Ford van for going 79 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone at the intersection of Route 50 and Rabbit Hill Road at about 9:20 p.m., said Sgt. Marc Black, a state police spokesman.